Nuclear Throne follows a simple leveling system. Radiation can be collected by killing enemies to fill out the level bar on the top left of the screen, and once filled the character will level up. Entering a portal will initiate the level up, allowing the player to pick 1 mutation (skill) from a set of 4 in normal circumstances. These skills can modify the mutant, their weapons, or even the enemies/environment around them.
At the start of a run the player will always be at level 1, and every consecutive level up will grant a mutation up to level 9, meaning that a normal run will have 8 mutations, though 9 can be gained with the Crown of Destiny.
Reaching level 10 is instead referred to as "Level Ultra" which gives a character-specific ultra mutation that is a strong final boost, typically to the character's active or passive ability. Additional rads can be collected after this which will fill the rad meter still but no more leveling will occur; instead the rad meter is used as a secondary ammunition counter for the special ultra weapons that use radiation as well as their normal ammo type. If the rad meter is entirely full then any additional rads picked up will simply be put to waste, similar to picking up ammo/health when full.
The following is a table to show the rads required for each level up, as well as the total rads collected at that point. On a run where most rads are collected level Ultra can be expected to be reached at the very end of preloop or in loop desert, before ultra weapons have a chance to start dropping.
Level: | Lvl. 1 | Lvl. 2 | Lvl. 3 | Lvl. 4 | Lvl. 5 | Lvl. 6 | Lvl. 7 | Lvl. 8 | Lvl. 9 | Ultra | Full Ultra |
Rads needed: | 0 Rads | 61 Rads | 120 Rads | 180 Rads | 240 Rads | 300 Rads | 360 Rads | 420 Rads | 480 Rads | 540 Rads | 600 Rads |
Total Rads: | 0 Rads | 61 Rads | 181 Rads | 361 Rads | 601 Rads | 901 Rads | 1,261 Rads | 1,681 Rads | 2,161 Rads | 2,701 Rads | 3,301 Rads |
Here is the table of contents grouping each of the mutations in the game. There are 29 universal mutations in the game and 33 ultra mutations for a total of 62 mutations in the game each with their own unique mechanics.
- Normal Mutations, with a total of 26 that will each benefit the player in unique ways.
- Reroll Mutations, with a total of 2 that serve as rerolls to discard the current set.
- Secret Mutations, with just 1 that only appears in special circumstances.
- Ultra Mutations, where each character gets to choose between 2 for a total of 25 ultra mutations. (Horror gets 3 choices)
- Secret Ultras, where each secret character gets to choose between 2 for another 6 ultra mutations.
- Co-op Ultras, that is exclusive to playing co-op and will replace normal ultra mutations. (Link NTT later)
Mutation decriptions as they appear in game will be listed in quotation marks. A detailed decription of the tech of each mutation will then be listed. Due to the complexity of Laser Brain, Characters Thronebutts and all of their Ultras they are given more brief descriptions for the sake of casual players. An in-depth tech guide for each character exists on their individual character page, while Laser Brain is discussed in full on the weapon tech page. (link later)
Normal Mutations | ||
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Back Muscle |
"Higher Ammo Max" Increases max ammo capacity for shells, energy, bolts and explosives from
55 to 99. Ammo drops are dependent on the percent of ammunition held, so being out of ammo will lead to pickups being more frequent than if back muscle is not being run. |
|
Bloodlust |
"Some Kills Regenerate HP" Any time an enemy is killed they have a 1 in 13(7.69%) chance of giving the player 1 HP applied automatically. While health drops are effected by current health, Bloodlust procs are not. This means that it can proc even if HP is full, to no additional benefit. |
|
Boiling Veins |
"No Damage From Explosions And Fire When Under 4 HP" (Poor flavor text, it's at or below 4 HP.) Regardless of max HP, if currently at 4 HP or below than any sort of explosive or fire damage will not deal damage to the player, thus making it impossible to die to these hazards. Explosives usually hit twice in quick succession, but boiling veins prevents the additional hit during
hurt animation. |
|
Bolt Marrow |
"Homing Bolts" Any weapon that uses bolts will now behave differently, seeking enemies along their path Normal bolts/splinters: If flying by an enemy, may quickly adjust direction to instead hit the enemy. |
|
Eagle Eyes |
"Better Accuracy" Gives a multiplier of 0.3 to accuracy, where 0 is perfect accuracy. This will reduce the spread of weapon shots significantly. Normal characters: Default accuracy 1, increased to 0.3. |
|
Euphoria |
"Slower Enemy Bullets" Any projectiles shot by enemies now go 20% slower. Does not effect
enemy speed in any way. |
|
Extra Feet |
"More Speed, Walk Normal On All Terrain" Adds 0.5 to the total speed. Mutants default speed is 4, bringing it to 4.5. |
|
Gamma Guts |
"Enemies Touching You Take Damage" The player now does contact damage to any enemies, at 6
damage a tick. Props are unaffected by gamma guts, as well as vans. Enemies dying to gamma guts will cause a small shock around the player that does 8 additional damage to any enemies in the immediate vicinity. |
|
Hammerhead |
"Push Through A Limited Number Of Walls" Any wall can be walked into, destroying it. A noticeable visual effect will appear when standing next to walls signifying that Hammerhead can be used.
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|
Impact Wrists |
"Corpses Fly & Hit Harder" Killing enemies will make their corpses fly substantially farther
than their default distance. |
|
Laser Brain |
"Energy Weapons Deal More Damage" Any weapon that uses energy ammo will deal additional damage. Each weapon laser type differs from each other, so 'additional damage' is rarely a flat percentage increase but rather higher damage potential. (Link to weapons page explanation later) |
|
Long Arms |
"More Melee Range" Any weapon that is a melee, even if it uses ammo, gains "more range".
Standing behind a wall will reduce melee range while running this mutation. |
|
Lucky Shot |
"Some Kills Regenerate Ammo" Any time an enemy is killed they have a 2 in 17(11.76%) chance of giving the player 1 ammo drops worth applied automatically. The ammo type can be any of the 5 ammo types at random regardless of held weapons. |
|
Open Mind |
"Extra Chest Spawn" Every level will include an additional chest, which randomly chooses
between a weapon chest, ammo chest and rad can. Skipping 2 weapon chests in the same level counts as +50% towards spawning a big weapon chest. |
|
Plutonium Hunger |
"Attract Drops And Rads From Further" Substantially increases the pickup range for drops.
|
|
Rabbit Paw |
"More HP And Ammo Drops" Gives a flat +40% drop rate for ammo dropped by enemies. |
|
Recycle Gland |
"Most Hit Bullets Become Ammo" Any weapon that uses bullet ammo will give a 60% chance of
returning that ammo to the player automatically, if the bullet makes contact with any prop or enemy. |
|
Rhino Skin |
"+4 Max HP" Increases the player's maximum HP by 4. |
|
Scarier Face |
"Less Enemy HP" Every enemy will have 20% of their max HP removed permanently. |
|
Second Stomach |
"More HP From Medkits" Health drops give an additional 2 HP, for a total of +4 HP per drop.
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Sharp Teeth |
"Damage Taken Is Dealt To All Enemies On Screen" Any damage taken will be returned to all
enemies on screen at 2.5x for damage taken. |
|
Shotgun Shoulders |
"Shells Bounce Further" Any weapon that uses shells will have the shells bounce back
aggressively when in contact with a wall, traveling much further. Flame weapons do not bounce normally; this lets them bounce once for a short distance. |
|
Stress |
"Higher Rate Of Fire As HP Gets Lower" Additional fire rate is given based on health lost.
|
|
Strong Spirit |
"Prevents Death Once Recharges At Full HP In The Next Area" Any hit that would be lethal
towards the player will instead be blocked by Strong Spirit, leaving the player at 1 HP instead. Until
Spirit is regained any lethal hit will then kill the player. In order to regain Strong Spirit, the level Spirit was lost on must be completed. Upon reaching full HP at
any following level, Spirit will be recharged and will be there to protect the player once again. |
|
Thronebutt |
"Upgrades Your Special Ability" Thronebutt will enhance each characters specific active ability. In-depth tech on these can be found on their respective character tech pages. A shortened version is as follows:
|
|
Trigger Fingers |
"Kills Lower Your Reload Time" Any time an enemy is killed 40% of the remaining reload time is removed from both held weapons. |
|
Reroll Mutations | ||
Patience |
"Mutate Later" Skips the current set, giving a new set instead after entering the next exit
portal. What the new set gives is dependent on version and has more complicated mechanics behind the scene. |
|
Last Wish |
"Get Full HP And Some Ammo" Last Wish will cure the player, healing them back to max HP.
Additionally functions as a much slower patience, if taken a special flower will spawn on 5-1. |
|
Heavy Heart |
"More Weapon Drops" Heavy Heart is a secret mutation that will only appear if 3 of the 6
weapon-specific mutations are taken in a run. Increases enemies chances of dropping weapons by 210%, more than double. |
|
Ultra Mutations | ||
Confiscate |
"Enemies Sometimes Drop Chests" Fish's Ultra A mutation that has a 20% chance to convert any enemy drop into a chest instead. Ammo drops become ammo chests, weapon drops become weapon chests and health drops become health chests. |
|
Gun Warrant |
"Infinite Ammo The First 7 Seconds After Exiting A Portal" Fish's Ultra B mutation that makes ammo not be consumed for the first 7 seconds any time a new stage is entered, weapon cooldowns still apply. |
|
Fortress |
"+6 Max HP" Crystal's Ultra A mutation that gives her an additional 6 max HP. Can be stacked with Rhino Skin. |
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Juggernaut |
"Move While Shielded" Crystal's Ultra B mutation that allows her to move during her shield time. |
|
Projectile Style |
"Telekinesis Holds Your Projectiles" Eyes' Ultra A mutation that brings any active projectiles he shot back to him by using telekensis, and can be held in place around him or fired out another time. |
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Monster Style |
"Push Nearby Enemies Away When Not Using Telekinesis" Eyes' Ultra B mutation that pushes enemies away from him for a radius that covers most of the screen. |
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Brain Capacity |
"Blow Up Low HP Enemies" Melting's Ultra A mutation that lets him use his active on alive enemies if they're under 5 HP. |
|
Detachment |
"3 More Mutations Lose Half Of Your HP" Melting's Ultra B mutation that gives him an additional 3 mutation pools to choose from at the cost of half of his current max HP. Adding extra HP afterwards(Rhino Skin) will not be halved. |
|
Trapper |
"Big Snare" Plant's Ultra A mutation that adds 5 snares around the main snare for a total of 6. |
|
Killer |
"Enemies Killed On Your Snare Spawn Saplings" Plant's Ultra B mutation that will spawn sapling allies from enemies killed on snares whose blood explosions upon death can erase projectiles and damage enemies, and can do contact damage themselves. |
|
Ima Gun God |
"Higher Rate Of Fire" YV's Ultra A mutation that gives him an additional +40% firerate. |
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Back 2 Bizniz |
"Free Pop Pop Upgrade" YV's Ultra B mutation that gives an extra pop to his active without costing extra ammo or reload time. |
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Ambidextrous |
"Double Weapons From Chests" Steroids' Ultra A mutation makes weapon chests always drop the same weapon twice, which also means twice the ammo for that weapon type. |
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Get Loaded |
"Ammo Chests Contain All Ammo Types" Steroids' Ultra B mutation makes ammo & present chests now give ammo for all 5 ammo types when opened. |
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Refined Taste |
"High Tier Weapons Only Auto Eat Weapons Left Behind" Text |
|
Regurgitate |
"Eating Weapons Can Drop Chests Auto Eat Weapons Left Behind" | |
Harder To Kill |
"Kills Extend Bleed Time" Chicken's Ultra A mutation lets her kill enemies to increase the timer on her headless state for 1 more second each, though it can never surpass 5 seconds. |
|
Determination |
"Thrown Weapons Can Teleport Back To Your Secondary Slot" Chicken's Ultra B mutation that makes weapons return to her secondary weapon slot once the weapon comes to a stop. |
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Personal Guard |
"Start A Level With 2 Allies All Allies Have More HP" Rebel's Ultra A mutation that automatically gives her two allies for free at the start of a new stage, and all allies health will be at 30 HP instead of 12 HP. |
|
Riot |
"Double Ally Spawns" Rebel's Ultra B mutation that lets her always summon 2 allies at a time instead of 1, always at the cost of 2 HP. |
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Stalker |
"Enemies Explode In Radiation On Death" Horror's Ultra A mutation that makes destroyed enemies/props that drop radiation upon death will also burst into radiation pellets that cause 1 damage to enemies each. |
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Anomaly |
"Portals Appear Earlier" Horror's Ultra B mutation that will automatically kill every enemy in the level if their combined health totals less than 140 HP. |
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Meltdown |
"Double Rad Capacity" Horror's Ultra C mutation that increases the ultra rad meter from 600 rads to 1,200 rads, allowing for more rad beam or ultra weapon usage. |
|
Super Portal Strike |
"Double Portal Strike Pickups And Capacity" Rogue's Ultra A mutation that lets her have up to 6 portal strikes and canisters will give 2 portal strikes instead; 1 is still consumed per. shot. |
|
Super Blast Armor |
"Super Blast Armor" Rogue's Ultra B mutation that when damaged triggers 6 blast explosions around her instead of the usual 3 giving much more coverage/range. |
|
Secret Ultra Mutations | ||
Redemption |
"Back In The Flesh" Text |
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Damnation |
"Fast Reload After Blood Gamble" Text |
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Distance |
"Rads Can Spawn Toxic Gas" Text |
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Intimacy |
"Continuously Spawn Toxic Gas" Text |
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Ultra Spin |
"Improved Spin Attack" Text |
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Ultra Missiles |
"Missiles Fire Bullets" Text |
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Co-Op Ultra Mutations | ||
Blood Bond |
"HP Pickups Are Shared" The Ultra A co-op ultra, any health pickup/chest now will apply to both characters. |
|
Gun Bond |
"Ammo Pickups Are Shared" The Ultra B co-op ultra, any ammo pickup/chest now will apply to both characters. |